A total of fifty-six English chess coaches attended the FIDE Trainers Seminar held online over the weekend of 3rd-5th September, which featured lectures by such renowned trainers as GMs Artur Yusupov, Ivan Sokolov, Mikhail Kobalia, Jacob Aagaard, Thomas Luther and Dejan Bojkov.
The course was co-organised by Peter Long, the Secretary of the FIDE Trainers Commission, and Rob Willmoth, ECF Membership Director and Chair of the English Junior Coaches and Organisers Association (EJCOA). The initiative to hold the seminar came from EJCOA as part of its work together with the ECF to develop the professional skills of coaches around the country.
Students on the course attended a total of sixteen hours of lectures on —
Talent, Role of Trainers, Ways of Improvement and Different Training Methods (Yusupov); Studying the Classics & Strategic Patterns (Sokolov); Endgame Training (Luther); Analysing Your Own Games (Yusupov); Opening Repertoire & Preparation (Kobalia); Calculation Training (Aagaard); Psychology & Training Issues (Bojkov); Use of Technology (Bojkov); and the FIDE Trainers System (Long).
A two-hour written exam was held at the conclusion of the course, and the results from the exam, along with coaches’ submissions of their coaching track record and relevant experience, will be used to determine the awarding of various titles – FIDE Trainer, FIDE Instructor, National Instructor and Developmental Instructor. The titles will be published after their ratification by the FIDE Council in October.
Rob Willmoth said, ‘EJCOA is very happy to have facilitated this FIDE Trainers Seminar together with the ECF, with such legendary trainers. We believe it will help the professional development of English coaches and feed through into great results for England players and teams in the future.’